February Book Recommendations

My favorite Valentine this year is Rachel Kadish’s The Weight of Ink, an appropriately intimate, and at times, heart-wrenching novel that travels elegantly back and forth through time and experience. Set in both modern and medieval Europe, the book traces the personal stories and hidden histories of scholars, Jewish persecution, budding romance and devastating loss. Macabre to some, but no more heartache than your average Nicholas Sparks fare, and combined with beautiful descriptions and fascinating historical references.

I have always been partial to historical fiction because it allows the reader to not only get a sense of past realities, but also to learn about the social and political norms of bygone eras. Something similar to Game of Thrones, but more factual and with slightly fewer dragons, but somehow still applicable to our modern-day experience. Especially relevant to the #MeToo movement, this novel reveals the struggles of an intelligent woman, caught in a conservative religion during a time when all options for women were severely restricted.

Though I would, in hindsight, reverse the order, I read The Weight of Ink directly after Naomi Alderman’s The Power, which is set in an alternate future. In her feminist dystopia, women gain the ability to conjure electric, lightning-esque waves and cause pain or even death to the men who once tormented them, as well as other women, when necessary. It is a graphic, often violent and jarring novel; extremely provocative. Having gone so far back with Ms. Kadish, I am reminded of the multitude of reasons history gives women to align ourselves with the inherent violence in Alderman’s future, however, the courage and intimacy inherent in Ink gives me hope for the moment.

I suggest reading them both and enjoying all the drama while simultaneously treating yourself to some delicious chocolates!